Okay, reworked Tawe's backstory, and tried to tie it in tangentially with the details everyone else presented so far. I've also dialed his age back a few years, to fit the new direction I'm aiming for (he's now 16, which I figure would roughly fit Coming-of-Age in a Paleolithic society).
Tawe is a young hunter with a thin, athletic build, sandy brown hair, and dark eyes. To his tribe, he was never known for being particularly brave or strong, but he made up for it in cunning, speed, and resourcefulness. Even though he was deft with his hands and quick to learn, he had a reputation for shirking his work, since he would often rush his duties in order to find time to listen to storytellers, play his father's old flute, or wander the plains outside the village to observe wild beasts. He loved listening to the hunters' tales, and learned many things from them, not the least of which was how to embellish things, and how to tell a boast from the truth.
Tawe had a particular respect for Kharuk, a notable hunter of the village; he had never taken a wife nor had children, but he was said to have roamed farther into the wilds than any of the others, and had once felled a great fanged cat unaided. The hunter also had a fondness for the boy's spirit, and in many ways behaved like a father to Tawe, whose own father had died of illness many years ago. When the boy was old enough to take on a trade, Kharuk choose to personally mentor him in the ways of the hunt. They spent many a day travelling across the plains and into the nearby woodlands, where Tawe learned how to build snares, track game, skin and tan pelts, and navigate the wilderness. Kharuk also taught him less common lessons about the wilds, such as how to show thanks for the bounty it brought, and how to repay it in kind.
On one such hunt, they happened upon an old pitfall trap, which had long since fallen into disuse. A young wolf-pup was trapped at the bottom, hiding as best she could under a pile of leafy twigs. She had likely been abandoned for some time, and though to kill her might have been a mercy, Kharuk instead lowered a wide log into the pit, and coaxed her out with some of his provisions. He had an uncanny way with the pup, and rather than run off she began to follow them, and continued with them all the way back to the village. Upon their return, Kharuk continued to care for and train the wolf pup, whom he had since named Jala. When the day came that Tawe grew into manhood, he presented her as a gift to him, to act as a reminder of the close relationship he, and everyone in the village, had to the wilderness around them.
It wasn't long after this that turmoil gripped the village. Their leader's guidance had come into question, and many in the village began arguing over who could better lead them. Backed by a wave of support, Kharuk made a bid for leadership, and Tawe supported him as both his student and his half-son. There was a fierce opposition to this, however; though Kharuk's skill and wisdom were not in question, many thought it strange that he had never chosen to take a wife, and that he would choose to wander the wilderness alone for weeks on end, only to return with little food or materials for the villagers to use. Some argued that he was not devoted enough to their people, while others even went so far as to accuse him of being a beast who had stolen the skin of a man.
Before long, the conflict had escalated to the point that the only way the current leader could restore peace and order was to make an example of Kharuk- but when the time came, the hunter was nowhere to be found. Kharuk had likely sensed the danger, and slipped off into the wilderness, leaving the turmoil behind him. Determined to put an end to the dissent, however, their leader turned the village's attention to the rebels who had backed him, intent to make an example of them instead. Knowing that it would only be a matter of time before he too was sought out, Tawe took the wolf pup Jala, his father's carved bone flute, and a flint knife, and fled into the wilderness after his mentor.
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Topic: Bronze [D&D 3.5, PbP] (Read 8717 times)